North Seattle neighborhood fights back against bike lanes

SEATTLE - People in a North Seattle neighborhood are fighting back against a bike lane they say will make a dangerous road even worse.

"It's a very narrow street and it's a very busy street," Michael Boykin said.

He said traffic on Roosevelt Way NE is already dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians crossing.

He said the city's decision to create a bike lane in the Maple Leaf neighborhood will make it worse.

Right now on Roosevelt Way between 75th and 85th, there's parking on both sides.

The city wants to eliminate parking on the west side of the street, move the yellow line, and add a bike lane on the opposite side next to the parking there.

Boykin said that pushes cars closer to pedestrians on the sidewalk.
'They're in the line of fire," Boykin said.

He said he and other neighbors attended a public meeting on this last September and told the city that the street was too busy and too narrow for a bike lane. Boykin says he thought the idea was dead until he received a mailer a few weeks ago saying the project was starting.

KIRO 7 asked Rick Sheridan with SDOT about neighbors' concerns.

"These neighbors are saying their concerns were not addressed," KIRO 7 said.